Season 8 | Ep25 Helen Yarrow on embracing solo entrepreneurship after 30 years in recruitment

What if recruitment agency growth didn’t mean adding headcount?Helen Yarrow has spent over 30 years in recruitment—and for most of it, she felt like she was falling short of the industry’s definition of success.Why? Because she never scaled a big team.Despite launching her business 14 years ago and building a strong reputation in the B2B events space, she carried a sense that staying solo meant she hadn’t really “made it”.That belief stayed with her until her 50s.This week on The RAG Podcast, Helen shares how she finally let go of the pressure to scale, and found clarity in building a business that fits her life—not someone else’s idea of success.In this episode, we cover:- Her journey from Rec2Rec into B2B events recruitment- The realities of raising a family while running a business- The turning point that helped her stop chasing a model that didn’t feel right- Why staying solo might actually be the most powerful decision you can makeIf you’ve ever questioned whether bigger really means better, this one will resonate.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Helen Yarrow and Jackson Barnes02:58 Helen's Journey into Recruitment06:02 Career Progression and Challenges in Recruitment09:11 Transitioning to Motherhood and Work-Life Balance11:51 Establishing Jackson Barnes and Finding Clarity15:07 The Shift to Conference and B2B Events Recruitment17:52 The Role of Conference Producers20:55 Building a Business Around Family Life24:00 Reflections on Success and Team Building34:51 Redefining Success in Business37:12 The Journey of Solo Entrepreneurship39:34 Reflections on Parenting and Work-Life Balance42:57 The Importance of Self-Awareness45:00 Navigating Parenting Challenges50:20 The Impact of COVID-19 on Business54:58 Finding Fulfillment in Work01:01:12 Marketing as a Game Changer01:03:43 Advice for Women in Recruitment01:07:52 The Importance of Open Communication in the Workplace__________________________________________Episode Sponsor: UntappedUntapped is THE market leader and go-to agency for finding and hiring tried-and-tested offshore talent into UK, US and Australian-based recruitment companies.They’re providing top-class TEAMMATES, NOT OUTSOURCES! We use Untapped for Hoxo’s own offshore hires, and it’s been a total game-changer for our team. No one else can compete with the quality of their network, their in-depth candidate assessment process or their time to hire. If hiring elite-level overseas talent into your business to boost sales and increase productivity whilst saving yourself a huge amount in employment costs isn’t on your radar for 2024, it should be!Untapped are hiring recruitment, sales, marketing and support staff into recruitment agencies of all shapes, sizes and specialisms globally and they are growing rapidly!Join the waiting list today so you don’t miss out on the next cohort of business-launching hiring projects. https://bit.ly/47GGdvZ __________________________________________Episode sponsor: HoxoRecruiters: are you sitting on a goldmine of LinkedIn connections without knowing how to turn them into real opportunities?Most recruiters spend hours every day on cold outreach and endless scrolling, hoping for replies that never come. But what if LinkedIn could work for you instead?The Hoxo 7-Day LinkedIn Challenge is a simple, step-by-step framework designed to help you:Identify warm leads already in your networkStart meaningful conversations with potential clients and candidates—without feeling pushyShare content that gets noticed and builds trust – without spending hours...